B11 qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) Class
The qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) Class Battleship is the largest ship currently fielded by the Klingon Defence Force. A massive craft, she requires an enormous crew and is capable of destroying most ships in a few salvos from her guns. She cannot be cloaked due to difficulties adjusting a field that size and the power requirements for it. Development The failure of the Ber'Taa was an immense embarrassment to the High Council and the Klingon Defence Force. Whilst publicly the Ber'Taa was praised, plans were set in motion to replace her in service as soon as was plausible. Quickly the failings of the Ber'Taa were identified, and studies drawn up for designs to replace her. Progress was slow, limited by the technology of the time and doctrines that insisted on Cruisers as the main striking force of the KDF. Eventually, a design materialised that was finally accepted into production. Doctrines were gradually changing, and the need arose for a command ship. Compared to the Ber'Taa, the new C9 Puw'Leth (Sawblade) Class had reduced Secondary armament, only a pair of Photon Torpedo Tubes, but a much stronger hull, increased performance at warp speed, and a heavier Primary Weapons array. At impulse she was slower, but this was not a considerable problem given as she was never intended to keep up with Cruiser Squadrons. The Puw'Leth became the first Battleship in the Klingon Defence Force and one of the most powerful vessels of the 2270s. Increased numbers of later designs, such as the C7 Qo'NoS (Kronos) Class, reduced the need for large numbers of Battleships and in 2280 several Puw'Leths were traded to the Romulan Star Empire and became the basis for their Condor Class Dreadnought. In 2282, the Tholians unleashed a new class of ship on several Klingon outposts on the Klingon-Tholian border. This large ship was more than a match for the Klingon forces that could be fielded against it at the time. After a period of three months of the enemy’s unbridled rampaging throughout the border area, a massed attack on the ship finally succeeded in destroying it. The battle was extraordinarily costly in terms of ships and lives and forced Klingon High Command to rethink its battle strategies. The most apparent change to be made was the acquisitions of a large and powerful vessel not only to provide a devastating punch, but also to coordinate the disparate forces involved in larger battles. Tactics were developed whereby the large ship would salvo an enemy vessel from long range to get the enemy’s attention. When the enemy turned to engage the large ship, the smaller vessels would charge in to attack the enemy’s engines. Once the enemy was immobile, the large ship would then move in for the kill. Shortly thereafter, the Jevghom Design Bureau submitted the designs for a refit of their existing Puw'Leth Class, which fit this new tactical doctrine perfectly. Because of the speed and perfection of the Jevghom submission, there were many accusations of collusion or complicity with the Tholians in the border attacks. Many were killed in the subsequent honour duels, and none of the accusations were proven. In response to this hullabaloo, the engineers and designers at Jevghom renamed their design for the Puw'Leth Refit to pumwl’ (Accuser). The new Battleship proved to be a great success, despite the loss of the pumwl’ in an ion storm a few months after entering service. However, strategic planners in the Klingon Defence Force began to run war simulations that indicated that and even larger, even more powerful flagship would be beneficial, especially in a war against the Federation. At the same time, a political crisis was brewing in the Empire. Several factions within the High Council had been quarrelling over various lucrative and prestigious naval contracts, including that of the new Accuser Class. To complicate matters even further, questions of honour were also being debated as one side would complain bitterly that if the other faction obtained the honour associated with one of these contracts it would upset the status quo in the Klingon political power structure. The bickering soon escalated into something tantamount to a blood feud that threatened to divide the council into two rival factions. This would have crippled the empire by preventing any side from obtaining the necessary majority for major council decisions. In a savvy political manoeuvre, Chancellor Lorak ordered the design of a new ship, one that would be a symbol for all the Empire. (Only Lorak realised the fact that it could be used as a tool for inducing political stability as well.) Of course, this requirement matched perfectly with the need for a new "Super-Battleship" for the KDF. One of the factions, led by B’das, son of BoS of House Birok’ken, was responsible for the hull design and engines, while the other, led by Yok’tu, son of QI, provided weapons designs and control systems. Four were ordered, one for each “corner” of the empire, and each would serve as flagship for fleet operations in her sector. Two shipyards were originally slated to produce two vessels each, but the ChenwI’ Duj Yards was tangled in a scandal of corruption and greed that forced Chancellor Lorak to revoke not only the contract, but the council seat of Yok’tu as well. The vessel they were working on was towed to the newly expanded Klinzhai Shipyards, who fulfilled the remainder of the contract. The master ship builder Hogh Batlh completed the original designs for the new vessel in 2284. The design boasted formidable firepower, both in her Primary and Secondary Batteries, using the same Heavy Photon Tubes as the pumwl'. In an effort to give the ship a weapon to crack any defensive shields, her hull was designed around an Assault Phaser, the basic design having been developed from the design of the Federation 'Kaminari' Type II Phaser Cannon (having been stolen by agents of the Imperial Intelligence Service‏‎ in the 2250s.) An unfortunate side effect of the immense size of the new vessel was that engineers were unable to fit a working Cloaking Device. Despite their alliance, the Romulans were unwilling to provide technical information on their latest designs and the science behind their newest generation of Cloaking Device. Operational History The first ship, the IKS qeyLIS bet'Leth (Sword of Kahless) was launched in 2288, delayed by the need for shipyard space for ship repairs during the Organian Conflict. Proving to be superior to most Starfleet vessels encountered, the Sword of Kahless was soon followed into service by her sister ship, the IKS wo’ HubwI (Defender of the Empire). Their success, along with the introduction of the War Eagle Class by the Romulan Star Empire, lead to the pumwl' Class being redesignated as a Dreadnought. The age of the Super-Battleship had begun. The sisters saw combat again during the War of Pacification. A third ship, the IKS yejquv ghop (Hand of the High Council) was launched to try and stem the tide of the ISC advance. During the Ormong of 2291, the final ship of the original four ordered, the IKS qeqToQ'cHa (Glorious Victory) was completed, and was briefly under the command of forces loyal to Melkor. A surgical strike by forces loyal to Gorkon recaptured her before she could be fitted out for battle. The IKS wo’ HubwI was used as a command ship by General Chang, although this also marked the only combat use of the class during the Ormong. Several uncompleted spaceframes were fitted out in late 2291. This was fortunate, as the heaviest losses for the class came during the General War of 2292, although these were largely operational losses and they were later salvaged and repaired. Ultimately, six ships of the class were in service simultaneously, although several more are planned. Apocrypha The loss of the Tal'Ihnor Gates System and the explosion of the moon Praxis left the Empire with a critical energy shortage. The ecological damage wrought to the homeworld of Qo'NoS also put a halt to any plans for the further construction of larger Klingon warship designs, the qeyLIS bet'Leth being one such design. Four uncompleted ships were scrapped on their slipways, being cannibalised to keep the remaining six in service. The qeyLIS bet'Leth Class ships in service were refurbished over the years. In 2315, their Assault Phasers were deactivated, as they had proven to be highly sensitive and prone to failure. In 2325, the IKS qeyLIS bet'Leth and IKS wo’ HubwI, the two oldest ships of the class, were withdrawn and cannibalised for spare parts. The last remaining ships were withdrawn in 2338. Specifications * Class: 'Battleship * 'Hull Type Designation: '''KBB * '''Length: 686m * Crew: 770 * Warp Nacelles: '''6 * '''Maximum Sublight Speed: 2625 k/s (26.25 Mk/s) * Cruise Warp Factor Speed: wf 7.0 * Safe Maximum Warp Factor Speed: wf 8.3 * Hull Rating: '800 HSF * 'Shield Rating: 1260 FSP * Sensor Rating: 600 SRU * Armament and Equipment: ** Primary *** 6 × Disruptor Cannon ** Secondary *** 4 × Heavy Photon Torpedo Tube ** Heavy *** None ** Advanced *** 1 × Type III Assault Phaser ** Equipment *** Tractor Beam Emitter *** Probes *** 3 × D'ktagh (Dagger) Shuttle Ships in Service (2292) IKS qeyLIS bet'Leth IKS wo’ HubwI IKS yejquv ghop IKS qeqToQ'cHa IKS chwl'TeQh IKS PuQ'NeGh IKS choq'DIS (Proposed) IKS Qol'LoqK (Proposed) IKS meJ'qiL (Proposed) IKS qO'lIHa (Proposed) Category:Klingon Vessels Category:Battleships